IT’S TELFORD! MoD announcement will see Defence Fulfilment Centre go to Donnington
Nearly four years of hard lobbying by leading Telford councillors and senior officers paid dividends today with confirmation that the MoD's Defence Fulfilment Centre will go to Donnington.
Telford & Wrekin Council today hailed the news as a landmark moment for the borough which will be worth £60m a year to the local economy.
The proposals have the potential to safeguard possibly as many as 1,000 jobs at the base and create up to 700 more in the supply chain.
Today Philip Dunne MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, announced that Leidos has been awarded this major contract.
“Today’s announcement is a key step in bringing defence logistics up to the standard of industry best practice. It will deliver state of the art warehousing systems to improve availability of supplies and better management of inventory for the Armed Forces,” said Mr Dunne, in a statement today.
Telford & Wrekin Council has been working to develop a solution which consolidates logistics operations on the Donnington site.
The announcement signals the start of the MoD’s procurement exercise titled Logistic Commodities & Services (Transformation).
Leidos will overhaul the MoD’s procurement practices, inventory management and stock control, rationalising current stock holdings and storage infrastructure and refining logistics processes.
Councillor Kuldip Sahota, Telford & Wrekin Council’s leader, said: “This is a massive decision for the whole of Telford and Wrekin and absolutely fantastic news.
“We’ve always said the key priority was safeguarding the existing jobs at MoD Donnington but the news that we will get this investment, creating more jobs and growth and approximately £60m a year for the economy is just wonderful.
“This decision is testament to the hard work carried out by the council’s team over a significant period of time.”
Councillor Bill McClements, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Finance and Enterprise, said: “It is true to say that we’ve turned heads. The MoD were initially sceptical but we have always believed in ourselves and believed that Telford is the best place for the Defence Fulfilment Centre.
“We have worked positively over the last two years and are really excited about working with them to take the scheme forward as well as welcoming this major and high profile inward investment to the borough.
“We know they have some challenging timescales to meet with regards to the build but we know that our “business supporting, business winning” approach will ensure that these are met.
“We’ve got good value land, we’ve got the space, we’ve got historic military links, we’ve got the existing site at Donnington, we’ve got the transport links and a skilled workforce on the doorstep.
“We can’t wait now to move forward and deliver on our promises to the MoD. The talking is done and now the building can start.”
